Shelter
by Rosy Twilight
Summary: It's been ten years since Pitch's defeat. Jamie and his friends have grown up, making Jack feel insecure and lonely again. But when a mysterious, alluring girl who calls to Jack comes into his life, can he trust her and her not-so-innocent intentions? JackxOC
1. Remember Me

**A/N: Yup, I bet some of you are feeling deja vu-ish now! There was something up with my old account, ~LovelyOblivion, because this story didn't show up in the archives, nor did the new chapter I tried to upload. So I created a new account to bring ****_Shelter_**** back, minus the cover image for now because this account is new. So sorry for the inconvenience, guys. (: **

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**Chapter One: Remember Me**

**Jack**

**_{I will remember you, will you remember me?} —Sarah McLachlan_**

* * *

"Hey, look! Jack's back!"

A little boy waved frantically to his friends as I whooshed by. I flashed a grin at them before taking off with the winter wind, heart thrumming with happiness.

It had been years, ten years to be exact, since the other Guardians and I defeated Pitch Black. Since then, more and more children had begun to believe in me. I was pretty sure I would never get tired of being seen, heard, touched, but most of all, _believed in_ by children.

But today was different. Today might not be a snow day, but it was just as important. Today, Jamie, the very first kid who'd ever believed in me, was leaving for college.

I had forgotten just how fast humans grow up. One moment, I was having snowball fights with an eight-year-old Jamie, and the next, Jamie was eighteen and leaving for college.

When Jamie was thirteen, he stopped believing in us. I knew it was inevitable, but I was devastated all the same. North had assured me that it was natural. "Chin up, my boy. There'll always be new believers. Besides, they all have to grow up sometime, don't they?" I accepted this fact, but today, I just wanted to see my first believer off into the adult world.

I flew back down the familiar neighborhood of Burgess and perched on a nearby tree. I spotted Jamie immediately. He was now considerably taller than me. A built, lean figure had replaced his scrawny one, and hints of stubble lined his jaw. I felt ridiculously proud and sad at the same time.

I watched as Sophie, Jamie's now fourteen-year-old sister, bumbled out to the car with their parents. Bubbly as ever, Sophie hugged her brother, and the family exchanged more teary hugs and goodbyes before Jamie mussed Sophie's blond hair for the last time and got in the car. I was about to fly off when I caught Jamie waving almost imperceptibly… At me.

A bittersweet, resigned smile spread across my face as Jamie mouthed, _I knew you'd come, Jack. Goodbye_, at me before driving away. And in that moment, I'd never felt so old.

* * *

"How are the children, Jack?" Tooth asked as I returned to the North Pole. Baby Tooths flitted around me as soon as I entered the living room. North and Bunnymund were going at it again on whose holiday was more important, while Tooth and Sandy were sitting around, sipping hot chocolate and enjoying a break from their duties.

I smiled forlornly. "Jamie waved goodbye to me before he left. I swear."

Tooth gaped. "My Moon! Are you serious, Jack?"

"Mm-hmm," I mumbled as I gratefully received a mug of hot chocolate heaved over by a few baby Tooths. "Gonna miss the kid, though." I sighed and left the room.

"Crikey. What's with the bugger?" I heard Bunnymund whisper back in the room. He and I didn't really get along before the battle against Pitch all those years ago, but things had changed after.

Despite Bunnymund's arrogance and other less than attractive personality traits, I admired Bunnymund for his constant sense of humor and unwavering dedication to the children of the world. But, of course, I'd never admit that I thought he was cool, and neither would he. But I guess he _is_ my best friend aside from—

_Jamie_. Right. His name was like a punch to my gut. _Jamie's grown up now, Jack. Get it together_. I reminded myself. I dragged a hand through my white hair, frustrated. Why was I so beaten up over this?

But a small voice at the back of my head told me why. I didn't want to let my first believer go, simply because I was scared that no one would believe in me again. That I'll go back to being the ignored, lonely Jack Frost, whom no child believed in. I flinched at the thought.

_No_, I repeated firmly in my head. I would sooner die than to go back to that awful time.

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**A/N: To my new readers, this is my first fanfic, so sorry if it isn't very good. Reviews, follows & favorites are deeply appreciated. Thank you for reading! (And hopefully this account will let me upload new chapters for you guys) **

**Rach xoxo**


	2. The Beginning

**Chapter Two: The Beginning**

**Melanie**

_{She's strong when the dreams come, 'cause they take her, cover her, they are all over} _—_Yael Naim_

* * *

_Do you see that, my dear girl? _The voice rang in the girl's head as she observed the winter spirit and the human silently.

"Yes, I do, Father." The girl answered dutifully.

_Can you see how the human is so pathetically attached to that vile creature?_

"Yes, I do, Father." The girl said.

The velvety voice that the girl had always found soothing got an edge. The girl didn't like the sharp, bitter edge. Bad things happened when the voice got an edge.

_Remember, child. It is they who are evil. They pretend to be full of love and hope, but they feed off the children's belief. They harvest it and use it for their own selfish purposes. It weakens humans' life forces, shortening their life spans. Am I correct, my child?_

"Yes, you are correct, Father." The girl replied smoothly. She knew the drill.

_Never forget, my daughter. It was also they who killed your mother. And it was also they who killed me. Do you understand?_

"Yes, I absolutely understand, Father." The girl replied.

_Good._ The voice said, pleased. _Then do you understand what you must do to avenge your mother and I, my girl?_

She was relieved that the voice lost the edge. She nodded subconsciously.

"Yes, I do. I understand what I must do, Father."

* * *

The girl had grown up with nightmares.

Wherever she went, she knew she had them for company. They came for her every night, and sometimes even during the day in recent years.

The nightmares were terrifying; they scared the girl, made her cry and scream into the night. But the voice told her the nightmares made her stronger.

_Remember, you have to be strong enough to overcome the nightmares. How would you avenge your mother and I if all you do is cry all day? Pathetic child._

The girl didn't like his scoldings. After a while, she knew not to show fear at the nightmares, because the voice was scarier when she was scared. And after a longer while, she was no longer scared of them.

But the voice always demanded more. He taught her to make use of her fearlessness. The girl remembered that first night, when the voice told her to run away from the orphanage.

"But why, Father? I like it here!" She'd asked.

The voice grew cold and menacing. _You do not question me, child. Now, see that man there? Take him down with what I've taught you_.

The girl did what she was told. The man had gone down immediately, and started writhing in fear of the horrific nightmare the girl had sent his way. She weaved it herself, looking into his psyche for one of his fears and then materializing it into a nightmare.

_Good, good! My child, you are going to be so, so powerful. You know that, do you? _The voice cooed, velvety again.

"Yes, I do, Father." The girl had answered. But despite the elation of having pleased the voice, an unpleasant feeling nagged at her. Guilt. That feeling went on to follow her whenever she did… That. She didn't like the feeling.

Despite of that feeling, the girl wanted revenge. She _needed_ it. She would dream of it, dream of what she would do once she got _them_. Her heart would thump in predatory anticipation.

The girl was called Melanie Black, and she wanted revenge.

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**A/N: Yep, this is where it gets slightly AU. As you can guess, Melanie is Pitch's daughter. The next chapter will be in Jack's POV, so stay tuned (:**

**On a side note, thank you for the reviews, favorites and follows I received when I posted the first chapter on my previous account! I didn't expect any response, actually. You guys are the best!**

**Rach xoxo**


	3. Bunnymund's Story

**Chapter Three: Bunnymund's Story**

**Jack**

_{There's no remedy for memory, your face is like a melody} —Lana Del Rey_

* * *

It was September when Jamie left. A month had passed, and I was sick of moping around. I wanted to bring about more snow days. However, the other Guardians obviously didn't think so.

"You can't keep sneaking off and making it snow at the wrong seasons and regions, Jack," North would chide. Two weeks ago, I had flown to a region in South Africa and made it snow there briefly. After that episode, the Guardians had practically put me on house arrest.

Sometimes I visited the Tooth Palace. Tooth's kingdom was majestic and enchanting, but what really drew me there were boxes of teeth and the memories that were stored there. And my own memories, flashes from a past human life that I didn't know much about yet.

"You have to visit your past slowly, Jack. It's… It's a lot to take in." Tooth had advised me, a shadow passing over her exquisite, unearthly features. She then returned to her usual, exuberant self soon after, but I was more careful with my teeth from then on.

Other times, I visited Bunnymund's realm. It was perpetually springtime over there, and Bunnymund had almost flung one of his huge boomerangs at me when I suggested that I, well, liven up the place. Oh well. Kindness isn't always appreciated, I guess.

"Hey, Kanga—oops, I mean, _Bunny_," I smiled charmingly at Bunnymund. He mimed wrapping his paws around my neck, but let me continue as he painted some of his eggs.

I cleared my throat. "What were you? In your past life, I mean,"

A long silence stretched between us. Just when I thought Bunnymund was going to ignore my question, he spoke up. "I… I was a vet. In small town, back home in Australia. I loved my job, you know. Something about saving a helpless, innocent creature called to me.

"I was hiking in the woods that day. I was a bloke in my early thirties, just mucking around on my own. Then I saw an injured bunny. His left paw was badly hurt, the poor thing. I chased after it, and I guessed I tumbled down a steep incline or something. And so I'm here now." Bunnymund said softly, staring at his egg intently.

"Oh. Did you have anyone that you… Left behind?" Jack said in a rush. _Way to be sensitive, Jack. You don't ask personal crap like that!_ He mentally kicked himself. Before he could take it back, Bunnymund answered.

"Oh, I did, Jacky, I did," Bunnymund smiled slightly, using the nickname Jack hated. But he was relieved Bunnymund wasn't mad at him, so he let it slide.

"I was married to the most beautiful, wild-hearted woman on Earth. Sylvie loved the animals as much as I did, and we opened the first stable in our county together. She was my goddess, my angel, my _everything_. I—I loved her so much, Jack." Bunnymund's voice cracked at the word _love_. He sniffled and straightened up, forcing on a small smile.

"Why the sudden curiosity, bugger? Ever heard of the phrase _curiosity kills the cat_?" Bunnymund joked, trying to return to himself.

Jack smiled softly. He didn't know why he wanted to ask, either, but he was touched that Bunnymund trusted him enough to tell him about his past life. "Nothing. Hey, Bunnymund?" He looked up. "Do you ever… Regret that you were made a Guardian, then?"

"No, _never_, Jack. I may miss my Sylvie every single day, but I love being a Guardian. Don't tell me—" Bunnymund started, but Jack cut in quickly.

"No, no! I mean, I love my job too. I was just… Curious, I guess?" Jack said weakly.

Bunnymund rolled his eyes and mussed Jack's windswept hair. "Good. I had half a mind to whoop your sorry behind just now, bugger," Bunnymund paused for a moment and gave Jack a half-smile. "And my name was Lugh. Lugh Wilde."

Jack's heart warmed. "Good to know, Kanga—" Jack sneaked a look at Bunnymund's unamused face. "Bunny," Jack smirked. Then he left, letting the winter wind take him home.

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**A/N: I'm terribly paranoid that would go kooky again and not let me upload a new chapter, so I'm uploading the third chapter early. **

**What do you think about Bunnymund's past I made up? I promise this chapter wasn't irrelevant, because Bunnymund is appearing in the later chapters... Stay tuned! (And meanwhile I'll pray that I can upload new chapters tomorrow) **

**Rach xoxo**


	4. The Plan

**Chapter Four: The Plan**

**Melanie**

_{Staring at her prey, it's going well so far, she's gonna get her way} _—_Shakira_

* * *

"And that's the last of it, miss," one of the younger movers said, bounding to me. I could see, by the expression on his filthy, human face, that he was curious why a lone girl was moving into a huge house. I could also see that he wanted to ask me out. I snorted internally. _Keep dreaming, pathetic imbecile._

But I knew slamming my knee into his groin would draw unnecessary attention. I settled for searching his psyche for a fear. _Hmm, fear of snakes, I see. _I smiled a fake grateful smile. "Thank you _so_ much!" I swiveled around and slammed the door of my new house in his face. Well, at least he would have a nice little nightmare waiting for him at home later on.

"Humans," I muttered, rolling my eyes. I kicked a box out of the way. This was the third house I've moved into this year. It was always too easy—I would simply spend some nights staking out the place and send a couple of nightmare visions to the owners' pathetic, malleable minds. They would move out within a week, and all I had to do was to buy the place.

After leaving the orphanage back when I was ten, I had nothing but this… _instinct_ to rely on. I remember the first time I walked the park to the bare, broken bed. The same instinct told me to go down an unnatural hole under the bed, and there I found a cavern. It held everything I needed—a birth certificate, passport, a considerable amount of money, but most of all, _the voice._

The voice first spoke to me in the cavern. I had known immediately that he was my dead father, Pitch. From there things got blurry. I couldn't remember who I'd lived with before the orphanage, but Pitch told me I was with him before _they_ came for him.

They_ call themselves Guardians. How ironic, is it not, child? _They_ pretend to love and care for the children of the world, but the real reason why _they_ spend so much time with them? _They_ suck their life forces, my girl._ Pitch had told me. I was horrified then, but he continued.

_Why do you think humans have such short life spans, Melanie? How do you explain why some children grow up to be depressed, suicidal and how some even harm themselves? _They_ ruin the children, deteriorating their minds and bodies, all while pretending to be the good guys, daughter._ Pitch had snarled.

"Would they come for me, Father?" I'd asked timidly.

_Ah, _they_ would not. My girl, you are no ordinary child, for your father is the Boogeyman, the only one strong enough to bring _them_ down. I had tried once, but I have failed. But you are special, for you are half-mortal and half-Fear Bringer. That fact alone makes you far more powerful that I'll ever be. Do you know why, my girl?_

"Why, Father?" I'd asked, eyes shining with hope and a sense of… Purpose. Like I was needed, and even loved.

_As you are half-mortal, you have substance in this world. Do you know what that means? You are _real. _And therefore, what you create with that wondrous mind of yours_—_it is real as well. My dear girl, you will be powerful beyond belief, and avenge me_—_and your mother. _

That was when I first started believing my father. That was when he started training me to bring _them_ down. He told me about their powers, one by one.

_You must look out for the cold one, my child, for he is the worst of them all," Pitch would warn me. "I want you to lure him, daughter. Together, we can destroy him. And once he is destroyed, the other Guardians will be easy enough to take down._

_Jack Frost. Remember his name, Melanie. _Pitch had repeated this phrase countless of times. 

_Jack Frost_. I repeated in my mind now. I had never met any of the Guardians, spending the last seven years in my father's cavern and all, but I had no desire to. His name gave me the shivers, as pun-y as that sounded.

Seven years of training my… Ability, so to speak, had finally paid off this year. I had managed to get Pitch to let me move out into the real world, and execute a plan to finally get _them_.

* * *

After packing my few things into my new house, I sat at my vanity, contemplating my next move.

This time, I would be using my real name, Melanie. To the rest of the world, I was Melanie Tenebris, eighteen-year-old orphan who had just received this house as recovered inheritance from her dead parents and was enrolling at the nearby community college.

I knew _he_, Jack Frost, would be back at this neighborhood, sooner or later. After witnessing the disgusting display of affection between him and that pathetic human, Jamie Bennett, I knew it in my bones. He was too sentimental _not_ to come back here.

I studied my reflection in the mirror. I was aware that I was pretty, beautiful even, but I knew not to let it define me, make me foolishly conceited and vain like many human girls. My father had trained me better than that, because I knew the best way to make use of this beauty.

I curled a finger in my hair as I gazed out the window. The air was getting colder, the autumn leaves withering. The season was changing, and Jack Frost was sure to come back.

I tilted my head to the sky and felt a slow, sinister smile creep over my face. "I'll be waiting for you, Jack Frost."


End file.
